Often Partisan

The Carson Trial – Recap

Today sees Carson Yeung take the stand in his long running trial on five counts of money laundering in the District Court, Wan Chai.

As it’s been some time since he was last in court I’ve put together some information of what is going to happen in the next few days.

What will happen?

Carson will take the stand as witness in his case and will provide evidence as to where the money in the accounts came from, what precautions he took to ensure the money came from clean sources and what he did with the money. The case hinges on him not acting as  reasonable man should and the onus is on him to prove that he did everything in his power to ensure that the money paid into the accounts was clean.

He will be the only witness in the stand, and the hearings will start with him being questioned by his defence counsel. Once they have finished, the prosecution will have a chance to cross-examine Carson – at that point, the defence can no longer help him and he is for all intents and purposes on his own. The current timetable is for two to three days of giving evidence and a similar amount for cross-examination – however, as we all know that can easily change.

One thing to bear in mind is that normally the accused gives evidence first so that they cannot benefit from their other witness testimonies and as Carson managed to get that switched around the judge will have to take that into consideration.

Will there likely be any adjournments?

It’s my understanding that there won’t be, for two reasons. Firstly, the judge has made it plain he wants to get this case wrapped up now so he will not stand for any further time-wasting. Secondly, it’s my understanding that the defence have prepared Carson thoroughly and will want to get this out of the way to avoid any further scheduling conflicts. However, as always it makes sense to be prepared for all eventualities.

When are we likely to hear a verdict?

This depends solely on the judge. There is the hope he’s spent the summer reading the evidence so will need minimal time once Carson has finished to complete his judgement; however I am of the pessimistic camp and due to the importance of Carson’s evidence I think that there will be a fair amount of time before we hear – I’m not expecting a verdict before Christmas personally. If it’s sooner than that it’s good news but I believe it pays to be conservative in this regard.

If Carson is found guilty, can he appeal?

Yes, he can (provided he has the money to pay the legal bills). An appeal has to be lodged within 28 days of judgement and would potentially take another year or so to be heard. However, before people fret once the verdict has been passed down he is considered guilty and thus the football league should move if the club haven’t been sold as Carson will fail the owners and directors test automatically once convicted.

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